Railway-switch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. BOUCHER.

RAILWAY SWITGH No. 411.089. Patented Sept. 17, 1889.

N, PETERSy Pnoiwumogmplwr. wzshingmn, D. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. Aouct. RAILWAY SWITCH Patented Sept. 17, 1889.

N. PETERS, Pump-Limagnpmr. wasnmgten. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS BOUCHER, OF MONOLOVA, OHIO.

RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,089, dated September 1'?, 1889.

' Application led February 28,l 1889. Serial No. 301,460. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMOS BOUCHER, of Monclova, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 4Railroad-Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railway-switches, and particularly to that class of switches which are operated from the train, the object being to provide an ordinary switch with mechanism whereby it may be shifted or not at the will of the engineer without stopping the train or even slackening its speed, and after the passage of the train may be left in the position in which it was previous to being shifted, so that a passing train for which the iirst one switched off may run by on the main track just as though no change had taken place in the adjustment of the switch and without the possibility of accident due to the train becoming derailed or running off onto the wrong track; and a still further object is to furnish means for shifting the switch by hand and locking it; and -with these ends in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, as will lbe hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a section of track, showing the `end of a switch and my novel mechanism applied. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showingra locomotive on the track with its devices for operating the switch. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line x. of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the latch releasing or operating lever; and Fig. 5 is a sectional View through a caboose, showing the switch-operatin g mechanism.

A B represent the rails of the main track, and B the rails of a switch. Of these rails A and B are the usual shifting rails with tapered ends to lie one at a time against a iixed rail A or B, accordingly as the switch is opened or closed. The shifting rails are connected by tie-rods c, and all the rails are located on ties or sleepers d. One ofthe tierods c-the one c at the extreme ends of the shifting rails-is a little larger than the rest,

and its ends project out for some distance beneath the stationary rails A B with flattened upper surfaces to afford bearings upon the lower faces of the stationary rails, and also to prevent the ends of the shifting rails frombecoming raised by accident or otherwise above the other rails. This tie-rod c is somewhat dierent from the rest in other particulars, which will be hereinafter set forth in detail.

A rock-shaft e, supported in suitable boxes f, extends along the road-bedv about midway between the center and the rail. Treadles g g are secured to this bar, preferably near its ends, and consist of short levers normally projecting upwardly at an angle of about forty-five degrees and inwardly toward the center of the road-bed, having on their upper surfaces rounded shoes g2, constituting bearing-surfaces for the anti-friction device in the engine, which is adapted to be lowered in contact with one of these shoes when it is desired to shift the rails. A bifurcated lug h is secured to the rock-shaft c near its center in such a manner that its branches span the tie-rod c and extend slightly below the latter, projecting normally toward the center of the road-bed, and at their lower ends these branches are loosely coupled to a pitman i, which is connected at its opposite end to an end of the tie-bar c. Now it is important that the shifting rails should be so arranged as to normally close the switch, and to this end I employ the spiral spring j This spring is loosely mounted on the extension c2 of the tie-rod c', one end being secured thereto and the other end to a suitable abutment, so that while it requires considerable force on one hand to open the switch the moment the parts are released they spring back to their normal adjustment, thus closing the switch and leaving the main track unobstructed.

Of course it is necessary to secure the shifting rails after the switch has been opened until the train has run onto the switch. It is also necessary that some means should be provided for the release of these parts after the passage of the train. To accomplish this, a pair of levers Z Z are pivoted to the ties about midway between the rails, and the ends of these levers are pivotally connected together and adapted to produce a doubleacting latch. The outer ends of these levers IOO are provided with curved bearing-shoes m m, and beneath one or both of said shoes a sp rin g a is located, its tension holding` the shoes elevated a little above the plane of the tread of the rails, so that the inner end of the lever or latch l abuts constantly upon the upper edge of the tie-rod c in readiness to drop down into the notch o in the center of the tie-rod when said notch comes beneath the latch whereby the rod is held against the action of the springj. Staples 1p over these levers prevent their being raised too high. So much of the mechanism is all that is ordinarily brought into use; but it sometimes becomes expedient to shift the rails in the usual fashion-that is, manually from a switch-stand. Consequently the stand q is provided. This stand has on its top the circular catch-plate `r, and this plate is provided with a pair of notches yr r2, one in front and the other at the side, and also with lugs ,s j ust outside of said notches. Within the stand a post s is rcvolubly supported, its lower end being provided with the bearing-arm v', to which one end of the springj' is fastened. It is with the use of this portion of the switch that the lever u for operating the latch comes into play. This lever is pivoted to the side of one of the sleepers adjacent to the tie-rod c', and on its inner end is furnished with a nose u in position to abut against the latch Z when the rails are shifted by hand The opposite end of this lever rests beneath the bearing-arm t, and at this point it is provided wit-h a rounded bearing-surface r, against which the arm z bears as the post s is turned.

On the upper end of post s an arm 1" is mounted, and between the branches at the outer end of this arm the hand-leveraf is piv oted. Said lever, when raised, serves as an extension for the arm fr', to facilitate the turning of the post s', and when it is desired to lock the switch the hand-lever is pushed down into one of the notches r ri. Should the shifting mechanism ever get out of order, this hand-lever is operated, and the result is that the switch is changed as in other well-known switches, or it is also used when cars pass that are not provided with means for changing the switch.

Then the hand-lever is in the notch il", the shifting rails are drawn over toward the switch-stand and they are locked bythe latch so that they could not be separated by a passing train; but to change the rails from this position the hand-lever is turned around to notch In this motion the bearing-arm t is forced in contact with the rounded bearing-surface fr, depressing that end of the lever uy and forcing the nose u up against the latch I, and raising the latter out of the recess or notch o in the tic-rod c. This bythe action of springj allows the shifting `rails to move back and assume their normal position ready to be operated upon from the passing trains.

As ameans for operating the switch, I have devised the following: In the locomotive,

preferably near the forward end, a rocking shaft l is sul'iported. A pair of bearing-lugs Q are secured on this shaft in position to correspond with. the position of the shoes g2, and said lugs have a rounded surface at their ends, adapted when lowered toimpinge upon and depress the shoes g2, by which the switch is operated, as described. These lugs are confined in their operation between the crossbar 7 and pins 8. Asa means for operating theselugs,a hand-lever is located in the cab of the locomotive in position to be manipulated by the engineer, and from the lower end of this lever, which projects down below the engine, a pitman 4; is pivoted, and the latter extends forward to a crank 5 on the rocking shaft l. A spring-block on thishandlever holds its upper end normally forward, and in consequence the lugs 2 normally raised out of position to engage the shoes g`-, so that in order to depress the lugs or place them in position to run against the shoe g2 the hand-lever S must be forced backward. This is the case when the parts are arranged as shown; but it is evident that changes might be made in the arrangement. Also in the caboose there has to be some means for operating the levers ZZ. This mechanism consists of the U-shaped bearing-lugs i), which extend loosely through the floor of t-he caboese, caboose platform, or car, and are loosely connected at their upper ends with the opposite ends of a hand-lever l0, which is pivoted to the segment 1l. The pins l2, which connect this hand-lever with the bearingslugs, pass through elongated vertical slots 13 in the segment, and also through elongated slots ll in the hand-lever, which admit of the pins moving up and down in the elongated slots and also sidewise in the slots in the lever when the latter is vibrated. The lever is capable of about three adjustments, and in each of these it is held by a removable pin l5, which is passed through holes in the lever and in the segment. W'hcn the handle of the lever is in a horizontal position, the lugs are at equal elevation and out of the way of the shoes nz, m. \Vhen depressed,the left-hand lug is lowered, and when elevated the right-hand lug is lowered. The rear brakeman always knows whichlugitis necessary to lower to reach the shoes m in', and locks the lever accordingly.

A brief explanation of the operation of the switch will make the mechanism and its action perfectly clear. Supposing the engineer of a train goi ngsouth has orders to run the train upon a switch or siding, he depresses the bearinglugs inthe engine untilv one hasstruck the treadle g, which normally proj ects about two orthrce inches above the rails. This rocks the shaft e, and the latter forces the tie-rod c endwise toward the switch-stand until the notch o is opposite thelatch I, when thelattcr drops into it, due to the action of the spring beneath the outer end, This shifts the rails and opens the switch. The train now passes IOO IIO

IIS

onto the switch, aft-er which it is desirable to close the switch again in order that the following train may pass on the main track. To do this one of the lugs 9 in the caboose or rear car is lowered to engage the shoe m on the lever Z. This raises latch Z out of notch n and allows the shifting rails to fly back. Again, suppose a train is coming off of the switch from the south. The treadle g is depressed. This opens the switch, and when the train has passed out the shoe fm is depressed, and, as in the other case, the switch again assumes its normal position. So it is'seen that when the treadle gis employed to open the switch the shoe m is operated to close it, and when the treadle g is depressed to open the switch the shoe fm. is depressed to close it.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself to the particular construction herein set forth; but,

Havingfully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails, of a double-acting spring-actuated latch for locking the shifting rails in one position, said latch having shoes on its outer ends, and means for engaging said shoes, whereby the latch is raised and the shifting rails are allowed to assume their normal position, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails and tie-rods connecting the latter, one of said tie-rods having a notch or recess therein, of a double-acting latch located between and parallel with the tracks in position to be actuated by a car and normally bearing upon said tie-rod and adapted to enter the notch when the latter is in position beneath the latch, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails and tie-rods connecting the latter, one of said tie-rods having a notch 0r recess therein, of a lpair of .spring-actuated pivoted levers comprising a double-acting latch, one of said levers being adapted to drop into the notch when the latter comes beneath the latch, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails and tie rods, of a latch for engaging one of said tie-rods, arock-shaft connected with one of the tie-rods, and treadles on the rock-shaft, whereby the latter is rocked, substantially as setforth.

5. The combination, withl stationary and shifting rails and tie-rods connecting the latter, one of said rods having a notch or recess in its upper edge and a bearing-surface beneath the stationary rails, of a rock-shaft, treadles, a lug projecting -from the shaft, a pitman connecting the outer end of said lug with the tie-rod, and a latch for engaging the latter, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails, treadles whereby the switch may be operated from a passing train, and a latch for holding the rails in position, of means whereby the switch is shifted and locked by hand, and a lever operated by the shifting device and adapted to remove the latch which holds the shifting rails, substantially as set forth. f

7. The combination, with stationary and shift-ing rails, tie-rods connecting the latter,

and a latch for locking the tie-rods, of a pivoted lever adapted to engage the latch at one end and having a curved bearing-surface at the other end, and devices for engaging the curved end of the arm to raise the latch, subv stantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails, a notched tie-rod, and a latch, of a switch-stand, a turning post therein, said post having a bearing-arm thereon, and a latch-operating lever having a curved bearing-surface at one end in position to be depressed by the contact therewith of the bearing-arm, whereby the opposite end is raised and the latch is removed from the notch in the tie-rod, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails, a notched tie-rod, and a doubleacting spring-actuated latch, said tie-rod having a yielding extension and a spiral spring thereon, of a switch-stand having a notched plate on its top, a turning post, a locking device thereon, a bearing-arm on its lower end, secured to one end of the spring, and a lever extending transversely beneath the rail with one end beneath the latch and the other end beneath the bearing-arm, said latter portion having a rounded surface, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with stationary and shifting rails, a latch, rock-shaft, and means for operating said shaft and latch, of a switchstand, a turn-post, a handle for locking the latter, and a bearing-arm on the post, alever extending beneath the rails, with one end under the latch and the other in position to be engaged by the bearing-arm on the turn-post, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AMOS BOUCHER.

Vitnesses:

Joni. S. Hov'r, EMANUEL L. WERE.

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